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Though I hesitate, Candrama, to add to the noise in the hall, I suppose I
really do have to have to forward this correspondence about the
recently-posted email that "purported" (to use Ted White MP 's
word) to come from him. Michael<br>
<br>
<br>
Date: Sun, 26 Nov 2000 14:38:57 -0500<br>
From: "Michael J. Sidnell" <m.sidnell@utoronto.ca><br>
X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.7 [en] (Win98; U)<br>
X-Accept-Language: en<br>
To: ElectTedWhite@aol.com<br>
Subject: Re: SSHRC Grants<br>
<br>
Thanks Ted White for your prompt reply. It is not clear-- I mean
this sincerely-- what you mean by saying that "as a Member of
Parliament" you cannot confirm or deny the accuracy of the message I
received over your name. Do you mean that an MP is too busy to know
what communications he or his staff send out? Or that, as an MP,
you are privileged and so not responsible for your utterances? Your
use of “purported" suggests that you are disinclined to accept the
message as authentic. But you don't say whether you agree or
disagree with its substance, which is, of course, the issue. Your
response does suggest, however, that you will not confirm what is, in
fact, your view, in case that should cause you or your party some kind of
embarrassment. <br>
<br>
As to your challenge, I shall also assume that it is genuine– that you
are naive, not disingenuous, in asking (peremptorily, alas) for a
detailed assessments of research projects of which you give only the
briefest titles. WHY can you not see that some information about
each project, beyond the title, would be necessary for anything but a
knee-jerk response? Consider this: it will enlarge your
self-understanding. Consider also that many of the research titles
you list indicate an historical or foreign dimension to the study in
question; and that you are really and truly puzzled that the experience
of any other time or place could be thought relevant to this
country and the present day. You would probably find it worth the
effort to consider how the study of medieval fishing practices, human
reproduction elsewhere, gender-relations, cults, education or
sub-cultures in Vancouver, would be-- if well conducted --
relevant to us here and now. Examples from the past and elsewhere
may even help us to “place” and understand Ted White’s policies and
political practices. It is always interesting to know where an MP
takes his bearings from. If the past and elsewhere are not relevant
to your understanding of our present, what does guide your approach to
public policy? And, particularly, what concrete and specific
proposals have you to make research agencies more accountable in the use
of public funds. Do you have any such ideas that you are willing to
acknowledge? <br>
<br>
Michael Sidnell <br>
<br>
ElectTedWhite@aol.com wrote: <br>
<blockquote type=cite cite> <br>
<font size=2>Nov 25/00</font> <br>
<br>
<font size=2>Good Afternoon Mr Sidnell</font> <br>
<br>
<font size=2>I am responding to your email containing text which is
purported to come from</font> <br>
<font size=2>a letter written by me about the Social Sciences and
Humanities Research</font> <br>
<font size=2>Council (SSHRC). For the record, the policy of the Canadian
Alliance with</font> <br>
<font size=2>respect to ALL grants using taxpayers' money is to require a
higher degree of</font> <br>
<font size=2>accountability than has been apparent under past
administrations.</font> <br>
<br>
<font size=2>With respect to the text itself, as a Member of Parliament I
am unable to</font> <br>
<font size=2>either confirm or deny that the text originated with my
office. In addition,</font> <br>
<font size=2>I am also unable to confirm whether or not it is in context,
and whether or</font> <br>
<font size=2>not it has been altered before or during email
transmission. This is because</font> <br>
<font size=2>Members of Parliament are bound by privacy
considerations. Any confirmation</font> <br>
<font size=2>or denial, or any correction to rectify changes which may
have been made to</font> <br>
<font size=2>an original text, may or could lead to the publication of
private information</font> <br>
<font size=2>and the identification of persons who may not wish to be
identified.</font> <br>
<br>
<font size=2>The above having been said, I have taken a specific
phrase from the text you</font> <br>
<font size=2>sent to me, and I would ask you to contact the person who
sent you the</font> <br>
<font size=2>message in order to pose the following question:
(Please note the commitment</font> <br>
<font size=2>from me which forms part of the question)</font> <br>
<br>
<font size=2><b>Please describe in detail, so that I can publish the
information in a display</b></font> <br>
<font size=2><b>advertisement, in the North Shore News, for the benefit
of my constituents,</b></font> <br>
<font size=2><b>the ways in which each of the following SSHRC grants
"have contributed to the</b></font> <br>
<font size=2><b>understanding of Canadian society or the challenges we
face as we enter the</b></font> <br>
<font size=2><b>21st century", exactly why the projects were of
value to taxpayers, and in</b></font> <br>
<font size=2><b>what ways the results of the studies have been applied to
make Canada a</b></font> <br>
<font size=2><b>better place in which to live. In addition, please
provide details of any</b></font> <br>
<font size=2><b>grant which YOU have received, the name of the study, and
your answers to the</b></font> <br>
<font size=2><b>question above:</b></font> <br>
<br>
<font size=2><b>$100,000 for "First intermediate period settlement
and burial patterns at</b></font> <br>
<font size=2><b>Mendes in Lower Egypt (Delta) and relations with Upper
Egypt and the Levent".</b></font> <br>
<br>
<font size=2><b>$2,267,350 for "The history of the book in
Canada".</b></font> <br>
<br>
<font size=2><b>$62,000 for "An investigation of the motivations
underlying undergraduates'</b></font> <br>
<font size=2><b>alcohol consumption behaviour".</b></font> <br>
<br>
<font size=2><b>$50,900 for "Cabarets, nightclubs and burlesque:
investigating the subculture</b></font> <br>
<font size=2><b>of erotic entertainment in postwar
Vancouver".</b></font> <br>
<br>
<font size=2><b>$35,200 for "Figure skating and the representation
of gender and sexuality in</b></font> <br>
<font size=2><b>sport"</b></font> <br>
<br>
<font size=2><b>$38,600 for "History and aesthetics of television
medical dreams in North</b></font> <br>
<font size=2><b>America"</b></font> <br>
<br>
<font size=2><b>$23,740 for a study of "Mass Media
pornography"</b></font> <br>
<br>
<font size=2><b>$86,726 for "The use of time by teenagers and young
adults: an international</b></font> <br>
<font size=2><b>comparison</b></font> <br>
<br>
<font size=2><b>$33,800 for "Governing through
alcohol"</b></font> <br>
<br>
<font size=2><b>$515,000 for "The impact of race and gender on
social cohesion, in light of</b></font> <br>
<font size=2><b>globalization".</b></font> <br>
<br>
<font size=2><b>$365,000 for "Policies and practices for computer
use in Canada's schools".</b></font> <br>
<br>
<font size=2><b>$16,000 for an investigation of "attacks on
aristocratic behaviour in 18th</b></font> <br>
<font size=2><b>century Britain".</b></font> <br>
<br>
<font size=2><b>$88,000 for "A study of freshwater fisheries in
medieval Europe".</b></font> <br>
<br>
<font size=2><b>$21,000 for "Black military service and social
change in North carolina,</b></font> <br>
<font size=2><b>1862-71: changing perceptions of black
masculinity".</b></font> <br>
<br>
<font size=2><b>$20,000 for a study of "the changing mode of
reproduction among the resettled</b></font> <br>
<font size=2><b>foragers of Kedah, Malaysia".</b></font> <br>
<br>
<font size=2><b>$75,000 for a study of "The cults of
Boiotia".</b></font> <br>
<br>
<font size=2><b>$125,000 for "The Tell Madada archaeological
project: investigations of urban</b></font> <br>
<font size=2><b>life in the semi-arid highlands of central
Jordan".</b></font> <br>
<br>
<font size=2><b>$40, 222 for "Understanding rural household, farm
and village;</b></font> <br>
<font size=2><b>reconceptualizing the dynamics of gender relations in
Iran".</b></font> <br>
<br>
<font size=2><b>$79, 500 for "The archaeology of human origins in
the Danikil depression,</b></font> <br>
<font size=2><b>Eritrea".</b></font> <br>
<br>
<font size=2><b>$65,200 for "Visual representation and social
practice in classic Maya</b></font> <br>
<font size=2><b>households".</b></font> <br>
<br>
<font size=2><b>$78,000 for "Isotopic studies of infant feeding
practices in archaeology".</b></font> <br>
<br>
<font size=2><b>$43,000 for "Neo-Paganism and the extreme right then
and today: continuities</b></font> <br>
<font size=2><b>of the new religions of Weimar with the new right in
Germany".</b></font> <br>
<br>
<font size=2><b>$77,000 for "Behaviour and biology of early Southern
African populations".</b></font> <br>
<br>
<font size=2>I look forward to a prompt, detailed, and informative
response so that I can</font> <br>
<font size=2>arrange for publication of the information prior to
Christmas.</font> <br>
<br>
<font size=2>Yours truly</font> <br>
<font size=2>Ted White, MP</font> <br>
<br>
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